This report explores an approach to item development and psychometric modeling which explicitly incorporates knowledge about the mental models used by examinees in the solution of items into a psychometric model that characterize performances on a test, as well as incorporating that knowledge into the item development process. The paper focuses on…

This second volume of a two-volume report presents findings of a task force on the importance of skill development leave as a mechanism for retraining, upgrading, and updating workers in a dynamic Canadian society. Volume II is an instrument for consultation. Chapter 8 (the first seven chapters appear in volume I) looks at the lifelong learning…

This report describes 38 model school-business partnerships that are being conducted in South Carolina. The 38 reports were gathered from 24 school districts and 3 statewide projects. Criteria for selection were that the partnerships must be in some way exemplary of the program and the school district must have reported in some detail their…

The articles in this journal issue present a variety of teaching methods to enhance writing instruction. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Writing for Real World Audiences in the Classroom?" (James P. Beck); (2) "Copycatting: Learning to Write by Imitating" (Mary Ann Stemper); (3) "The…

In 1984, Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) received an Urban Community College Transer Opportunity Program (UCCTOP) grant to develop a successful transition model to encourage minority student enrollment at MDCC, North Campus, to improve minority students' success in transferring to four-year institutions, and to improve the retention rate of…

This digest of 310 Project evaluation methods is intended to provide examples of and guidelines for evaluating 310 projects at the national, state, and project levels. The first section, which is devoted to state-level 310 evaluation projects, includes a report on a longitudinal study assessing the impact of 310 projects in Florida, a report…

By following the "steppingstone" or marker theory of dividing one's life into no more than 12 and no less than 8 significant periods, a student in a writing course can develop a brief response for each phase to articulate multiple experiences. Writing teachers can aid students in realizing that important life experiences are the stuff of…

The process used by one researcher in developing an inventory of specific tasks performed by language teachers is described. The objective was to facilitate research on language teachers' jobs in a variety of countries and under differing teaching conditions and to provide job profiles for use in teacher education and by teachers, their unions,…

A bibliography of research on student attrition is presented. The 175 references, most of which are dated 1970 or later, are categorized under the following headings: research design, models of the attrition process, some historical perspectives, recent reviews of research--performance variables, empirical studies for 1970-1987, and intervention…

When the three-parameter logistic model and item response theory are used to analyze Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) data, there are problems with the assumption of unidimensionality. Linear factor analytic models, exploratory factor analysis programs, and the comparison of item parameter estimates for heterogeneous and homogeneous…

This study to assess the current situation of Mexican immigrants in California and project future possibilities constructs a demographic profile of the immigrants, examines their economic effects on the state, and describes their socioeconomic integration into California society. Models of immigration/integration processes are developed and used…

A biography for elementary school students of Patrick Des Jarlait (Ojibwe), an American Indian painter, includes photographs of the artist and some of his work. A teacher's guide following the bibliography contains excerpts from the artist's published reminiscences about his childhood, learning objectives and directions for teachers, suggested…

A biography for the elementary grades of Charles Huntington (Ojibwe), an American Indian sculptor, includes photographs of the artist and some of his work. A teacher's guide following the bibilography contains information on sculpture and the Ojibwe people, suggested activities for learning about sculpture and sculptors, learning objectives and…

This paper presents an introduction to the use of latent trait models for the estimation of domain scores. It was shown that these models provided an advantage over classical test theory and binomial error models in that unbiased estimates of true domain scores could be obtained even when items were not randomly selected from a universe of items.…

Multidimensional item difficulty (MID) is proposed as a means of describing test items which measure more than one ability. With mathematical story problems, for instance, both mathematical and verbal skills are required to obtain a correct answer. The proposed measure of MID is based upon three general assumptions: (1) the probability of…